After being laid off from his advertising job, Lane Fearing decided to go in a different direction and try home brewing.

Fearing, of Barrington, enjoyed it so much that his wife, Beth May, suggested he consider doing it professionally.

"I said, 'Why not just be a beer guy?'" May recalled.

Fearing did not take the suggestion lightly.

He enrolled in the Siebel Institute of Technology in Chicago and received an international diploma in brewing technology after completing a rigorous 12-week program, the couple said.

And after nine years working as the assistant brewer at Mickey Finn's Brewery in Libertyville, Fearing, along with May, a former senior designer at Samata Mason, recently opened their own brewery, Roaring Table, at 739 Route 22 in Lake Zurich.

On a summer-like day Sept. 23, the microbrewery's 2,000-square-foot taproom was bustling. Customers inside the new brewery in Lake Zurich raved about Fearing's craft beers and also May's interior design.

"I'm impressed with how big it is," said Kevin Blake, of Hawthorn Woods, who brought his friend Rick Fox, of Lake Zurich, to see the new business. "It's a whole lot more elegant than I had assumed. It's a great space. It's really well decorated, and the beers taste great."

After previously visiting Roaring table, Blake said, he was drawn back to the business by Roaring Table's IPA beers.

"He's a beer snob," Fox said of his friend.

He laughed as Blake held up "Tuba Solo," a New England-style IPA that Fearing tapped on Sept. 22.

"I like IPAs," Blake said. "East Coast, West Coast – I don't discriminate. I like them all, and this one's pretty good."

Julia Bishop, of Barrington, who lives on the same street as Fearing and May, said she's been drinking Fearing's beers since he began brewing them in his garage 15 years ago.

On Sept. 23, Bishop brought her friend Lori Weyburn, of Barrington, to Roaring Table for a celebration of Weyburn's birthday.

"It's an art," Bishop said of Fearing's brewing process. "I have been here many times already."

Weyburn, an art teacher, said she was equally impressed with the decor and drinks after trying two of the brewery's three ciders.

"The lighting is one of the first things I noticed," she said. "I like the industrial look of the brewery. I like that it has community seating. I like the 'library' area. This is one of the best set-ups I've seen."

Fearing and May said they worked hard to make customers feel like they are not drinking cold brews at a strip mall, even though Roaring Table is situated in the heart of a large strip mall at one of the busiest intersection in Lake Zurich.

"We were not super keen on a strip mall, but it had all the infrastructure we needed," Fearing said. "We said, 'All right, we can make it so you don't know you're at a strip mall.'"

The couple placed white-coated film on the front windows so customers do not see the Taco Bell drive-through nearby, he said. The beer garden is situated in a courtyard that is well removed from the mall's parking lot.

Fearing initially opened Roaring Table with four beers and has since added two more, eliciting favorable reviews from customers, he said.

He also was planning to add more beers for customers with intentions to release a West Coast-style IPA in late September and a Kolsch beer in early October.

"The goal is to show a range of styles and have a multitude of flavors," Fearing said of his beer. "The response has been gratifying to hear people say they like it and it tastes good."

The new brewery also serves 12 types of Heritage wine and a variety of snacks, but the business does not serve food, May said. Customers, instead, can bring food inside the brewery or order in from nearby restaurants, she said.